Russians shine at home climbing World Cup

The climbing World Cup 2010 was held in Moscow this weekend, where RT’s Konstantin Potapov caught the most eye-catching discipline - speed climbing.

Speed climbing as a separate discipline of climbing was founded in the USSR in 1947, and, as is clear from the name, speed is the ultimate goal, with time the only thing that matters.

This year, over one 140 climbers from 23 countries gathered in Moscow to take part in the climbing World Cup

The rules of speed climbing are simple – whoever gets to the top first wins. The competition is conducted in the form of knock-out races. The wall is as high as a four-storey house, but it can take less than 10 seconds for speed climbers to reach the summit.

There are two parallel routes of the same length, and the winner of the heat is decided by adding the climbing times of both routes.

The Russian climbing school is supposed to be one of the best, and it is no wonder that Russian athletes have occupied the top places in world rankings.

In the women's final, a Russian climber was to get the first prize anyway, as all four participants in the women’s final were from the host country.

Yuliya Levochkina was lucky to win after her opponent fell. In the second heat, all the 20-year-old climber from Krasnoyarsk had to do was not fail in her attempt.

“The Russian national team in speed climbing is one of the best in the world and we lose very seldom. Plus the fact that this competition is held in Moscow and on home ground we feel even more confident. That's why there were only Russian girls in the semifinals. And of course, I'm extremely happy to have won here,” said the winner.

The Men's finals turned out to be a real thriller, as Stanislav Kokorin won a gold medal after a stubborn struggle with Evgeny Vaytsekhovsky, who is currently number one in the world rankings.

Vaytsekhovsky was the first to touch the button on the first route, but when they changed their positions, the 20-year-old athlete just ran up the wall like Spiderman and won comfortably.

“This victory is very important for me as last year, in five legs of World Cup, I was always somewhere near a pedestal, but couldn't win,” Kokorin said, adding:

“It's been a pleasure to beat Vaytsekhovsky in the final, especially here in Moscow.”

Moscow was hosting the Climbing World Cup for the 6th time, and this year the event attracted a record crowd who appreciated the breathtaking action.